Page 22 of In Bed with a Highland Brute

“I beg yer pardon?” She jerked her chin up, looking at him as they approached the platform and the top table, far down in the feasting room.

“I prefer it when ye look at me tae avoiding me,” he muttered darkly. “I cannae stand the demure act.”

“An act?” She asked sharply. “Ye think I am acting when I do such a thing?”

“Well, I have already seen ye are good at pretending.” He nodded his head back at the dance floor. “I could have easily persuaded myself into thinking ye enjoyed my touches then.” He released her and approached the table, leaving her woozy on her feet as she followed.

Despite her words, she hung her head, as it was her natural habit to do so. She kept her thoughts to herself, realizing with horror that she hadn’t been acting at all.

It is time tae face the truth. Despite what we are doing here, I like Murdoch’s touches.

The attraction, the heat, all of it was not something she could deny. She sat down hurriedly beside him at the table as Fergus stood. He tapped a knife against the goblet in his grasp, the metal ringing out loudly.

Many took their seats as others hunted for their goblets. It was time for another toast.

“I thank ye for coming tonight, me friends, for another feast tae celebrate our happy unions.” Fergus turned great smiles on his two sons. “I have some announcements tae make. The first, is fer me youngest son, Clyde, and his betrothed, Harper.” He laid a hand on Clyde’s shoulder at his side. “It is my pleasure tae tell ye all that their wedding shall take place within the month.”

A warm applause followed this as a guard approached Murdoch.

Distracted, Eloise looked toward him, seeing the guard whisper in Murdoch’s ear. His face turned deathly pale, almost as white as the moon beyond the castle windows. He nodded, just once, his manner abruptly stiff, then the guard hastened back again. In the next second, Murdoch’s leg began to bounce beneath the table and one of his hands tightened on the edge of the table.

“Murdoch?” Eloise whispered to him under the cover of the applause. “What is it? Has something happened?”

“Ye and I have a problem.” Murdoch turned toward her.

“What is it?”

“Of course, there is my eldest son tae consider.” Fergus shifted as the applause faded. He clapped Murdoch’s shoulder this time, pinning him in his seat. “As he has returned betrothed, it is my greatest hope that we shall see them married whilst they are here.”

Here? Married here?

Eloise tried to force a smile though her heart thudded against her ribcage loudly. This would no longer be an act if she and Murdoch had to be married in front of his father’s eyes!

“On that subject, I have a surprise fer me son.” Fergus lifted his hand from Murdoch’s shoulder and gestured to the door at the far end of the hall. “Here, the other guests we have been waiting for.”

Guests?

Eloise glanced at Murdoch, seeing the fear in his eyes and the bouncing of his leg had grown worse. The guard must have warned him of what was about to happen, for he looked ready to leap out of his chair.

The door was opened by the guards and four figures walked in.

Eloise’s eyes darted across the two ladies, shocked to see Aila and Callie staring back at her. Ian stood beside Aila, ready to laugh at the display of grandeur and fine color in the room. The face Eloise stared at the most, the one that shocked her to her core, was her brother’s, Avery.

He stared at her too across the breadth of the room, the surprise on his face so palpable it was a wonder he didn’t faint.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Och, nay! This cannae be happening!

Yet no amount of inward curses could change what Murdoch was witnessing. At the other end of the room were his friends, come to see the celebrations, and amongst them was Avery, Eloise’s brother.

He will kill me for this.

Avery’s eyes flitted between the pair of them, with such a firm crease in his brow, the disapproval could not be ignored.

“If looks could kill,” Eloise whispered beside him.

“I’d be shot with an arrow in this chair.” Murdoch agreed as Eloise nodded beside him.